September 5-7: Baltimore Comic-Con

Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes), Laura Martin (Serenity: Leaves of the Wind), Brian Stelfreeze (Day Men), and Karl Story (Serenity: Leaves of the Wind) are the latest additions to the guest roster for The Baltimore Comic-Con which will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center September 5-7, 2014. This is the convention’s 15th year and its first as a three-day show.

Kids 10 and under get in free and show organizers are once again presenting a kid-friendly comics area, full of all-ages comics, as well as the artists and writers who make them. Creators from such companies as Archie, Scholastic, Disney, Simon & Schuster, First Second, Marvel, and DC will be on hand to sketch, say hi, and help to teach young ones about the magic of comics through mini-How-To’s through the weekend, right at the Kids Comics Pavilion

Tickets Now On Sale
Tickets are now on sale for the show, including Weekend General Admission, and General Admission for each day, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Ticket prices are $55 for the Weekend, $25 for Friday, $30 for Saturday, and $25 for Sunday. Admission for children 10 years old and under remains free of charge.

Additional VIP packages are also available now. Please consult the show’s site for additional information.

“This is such an exciting year for us, adding Friday to the weekend,” said Nathan. “We know our fans have been anxiously awaiting ticket availability to buy for themselves, family members, friends, students, award winners, and any number of other scenarios we’ve heard about, and we genuinely appreciate everyone’s patience. This is going to be our biggest year ever with a third day and an even larger space in the Baltimore Convention Center, and we’re thrilled to have everyone to experience it with us!”

All-Star Baltimore Comic-Con Reception
The 2014 All-Star Baltimore Comic-Con Reception will take place on Friday, September 5 at 8:00 PM at a four-star hotel adjacent to the convention center, high atop the city of Baltimore with a wonderful view of Inner Harbor.

Guests will include Christina Blanch, Mark Buckingham, Alan Davis, Dave Gibbons, Barry Kitson, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, Brennan Wagner, Matt Wagner, Mark Waid, and Bill Willingham.

This private, limited event is only open to ticket holders. Tickets are now available at baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/. The All-Star Reception Packages are priced at $199 and do not include admission to the show.

CGC and CCS Offer On-Site Services
CGC will offer on-site grading at this year’s convention. They will offer all tiers of service – with the exception of magazines – on a first-come, first-serve basis for all three days of the show.

In addition to the on-site grading, CGC’s sister company Classic Collectible Services (CCS), will offer on-site pressing services.

“The Baltimore Comic-Con has always been such a successful show and CGC has shared in that success over the years,” said CGC’s Harshen Patel. “With the show moving to three days, it was only natural for us to offer on-site grading to the collectors and dealers attending this year.”

“We couldn’t be happier to have CGC exhibiting at the show,” said Nathan. “The services that they provide in the collectible community are invaluable, and having them on-hand to provide on-site grading and pressing will make many of the show’s attendees very happy!”

Pricing information for on-site services will be available as we approach the show date.

Location
The Baltimore Convention Center is a short walk from the famous, tourist-friendly Inner Harbor area and immediately across the street from the historic Camden Yards sports complex and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum.

Guest List
Guests for this year’s show include, in alphabetical order, Frank Barbiere (Five Ghosts), Eddy Barrows (Birds of Prey), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), Marguerite Bennett (Superman: Lois Lane), Christina Blanch (The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Dave Bullock (Batman Black and White), Jim Calafiore (Deadpool), Darrenn Canton (Tunnels & Trolls), Greg Capullo (Batman), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), John Cassaday (Planetary), Bernard Chang (Green Lantern Corps), Jo Chen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Sean Chen (Amazing Spider-Man), Jimmy Cheung (Infinity), Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman), Frank Cho (X-Men: Battle of the Atom), Amy Chu (Vertigo Quarterly: Cyan #1), Richard Clark (House of Gold & Bones), Steve Conley (Bloop), Mike Curtis (Dick Tracy), Jeremy Dale (G.I. Joe), Alan Davis (Wolverine), Rachel Deering (Creepy), Todd Dezago (Perhapanauts), Tommy Lee Edwards (Suicide Risk), Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys), Ray Fawkes (Batman Eternal), Tom Feister (Ex Machina), David Finch (Batman: The Dark Knight), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez), Gerhard (Cerebus), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Keith Giffen (Ambush Bug), Bryan JL Glass (Mice Templar), Michael Golden (Micronauts), Allan Gross (Road Song), Cully Hamner (Animal Man), Dean Haspiel (The Fox), Fred Hembeck (Garfield), Marc Hempel (Sandman: The Kindly Ones), Adam Hughes (Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan), JG Jones (Green Lantern Corps, Batman Black and White), Justin Jordan (Luther Strode, Green Lantern: New Guardians), Dan Jurgens (Superman: The Death of Superman), Chris Kemple (Artist Alley Comics), Denis Kitchen (The Art of Harvey Kurtzman), Barry Kitson (Empire), Aaron Kuder (Action Comics), Norman Lee (Iron Man Special #1), David Mack (Shadowman), Kevin Maguire (Guardians of the Galaxy), Alex Maleev (Moon Knight), Good Charlotte lead guitarist Billy Martin (Vitriol, The Hunter), Ron Marz (Witchblade), Mike McKone (Original Sin), Bob McLeod (X-Men: Gold), Pop Mhan (All-New X-Factor), Tradd Moore (Deadpool Annual), Mark Morales (New Avengers), Tom Palmer (The Avengers), Dan Parent (Archie, Veronica, Kevin Keller), David Peterson (Mouse Guard), Eric Powell (The Goon), Joe Prado (Justice League), Brian Pulido (Lady Death), Ron Randall (Treker), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Ivan Reis (Justice League), Budd Root (Cavewoman), Don Rosa (The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck), Craig Rousseau (Perhapanauts), Joe Rubinstein (Wolverine), Andy Runton (Owly), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Louise Simonson (X-Force), Walter Simonson (Thor), Andy Smith (Superman #23.1: Bizarro), John K. Snyder III (Zorro Rides Again), Allison Sohn (sketch card artist), Charles Soule (Thunderbolts), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Paul D. Storrie (Sheena, Queen of the Jungle), Ben Templesmith (The Memory Collectors), Robert Tinnell (The Wicked West), Peter Tomasi (Batman and Two-Face), John Totleben (Swamp Thing), Herb Trimpe (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero), Billy Tucci (Shi), Rick Veitch (Saga of the Swamp Thing), Mike Vosburg (Lori Lovecraft), Matt Wagner (Grendel), Mark Waid (Daredevil), Lee Weeks (Tarzan vs. Predator), Mark Wheatley (Frankenstein Mobster), Renee Witterstaetter (Joe Jusko: Maelstrom), Bill Willingham (Fables), Rich Woodall (Artist Alley Comics), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), Thom Zahler (My Little Pony), and Mike Zeck (Punisher). 

Exhibitors
Publishers and other companies exhibiting at the Baltimore Comic-Con include Advent Comics, Bennett’s Curse Haunted House, BOOM! Studios, Braine Games, Catthulhu.com, Dynamite Entertainment, Fulcrum Publishing, Headlocked & Visionary Comics, Hermes Press, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, Nobrow, OTR Publishing, Ratarra Publishing, Roadhouse Productions, Th3rd World Studios, and Valiant Entertainment.

Show Exclusives
There are generally multiple show exclusives at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Details on this year’s exclusives will be released closer to the show dates.

The Harvey Awards
Named after pioneering comic book writer-artist-editor Harvey Kurtzman, The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry’s oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 27 years, the last nine of which have been in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.

The Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet will be held Saturday night, September 6.  Additional details will be released soon.

For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org.

Costume Contest
The 6th Annual Baltimore Comic-Con Costume Contest will take place on Sunday, September 7. 

This year, StylinOnline.com is bringing back their “Tower of T-shirts” to the Baltimore Comic-Con and they’re once again sponsoring the costume contest. The Grand Prize has been doubled to $2,000.

“The Baltimore Comic-Con Costume Contest is one of the most popular events at the show, attracting fans from far and wide who come to dress up as their favorite characters, show off their hard work in creating fantastic-looking costumes, or to observe and/or photograph costumed attendees — just look at our Facebook photos sections to see where the volume of photos are,” show promoter Marc Nathan said in an email.

For full details, check out the show’s site.

Overstreet Cover Artists
In addition to JG Jones, who illustrated the 75th anniversary Batman cover for The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44, and Herb Trimpe, Tom Palmer, and Laura Martin, who illustrated the Hero Initiative exclusive, limited edition Wolverine cover for #44, there will be several Overstreet cover artists at the show. Among them are Adam Hughes (#42), John K. Snyder III (#31, first of several), Billy Tucci (#37), and Matt Wagner (#42)

More announcements will be forthcoming.

The latest developments can be found on their website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.